Trolley-pole head



H. F. NORMAN.

I TRO-LLEY POLE HEAD. APPLICATION FlL-ED APR. 16., I920. RENEWED MAR. 30' 1921- 1-,379',O3 7.

Patented May 24, 1921.

' Be it known that I, HOWARD UNITED: STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD F. NORMAN, OF NEWTONVILLE, MASSACHUSET'IS.

TROLLEY-POLE HEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24,1921.

Application filed April 16, 1920, Serial No. 374,440. Renewed March 30, 1921. Serial No. 457,025..

To all whom it may concern:

a citizen of the United'States, and aresident of Newtonville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley- ;Pole Heads, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to trolley-pole heads and its object is to puroduce a device where by the contact wheel may automatically be replaced on the trolley wire after it has been :thrown off the latter by a sudden jolt or shock and which will readily pass the transverse wires, clamps, frogs and the like of the overhead system. 7

With this object in view my invention comprises a guard rotatably mounted'about an axle of thetrolley-pole harp and having two side members each provided witlran upwardly extending finger having an'inwardly exposed end portion, a resilient member arranged'to hold said fingers'in upright position, a 'member rigidly joining the guard members and a contact wheel arranged between the latter, said wheel being mounted for rotation about the same axle as the guard and having its sides abutting the inner sides of the latter.

One embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, butv it will be understood thatthe device therein shown and particularly described hereinafter may be widely varied without departing from the scope of my invention as "defined by the'appended claims.

-Inthe'drawings- Figure l is a side view of a trolley-pole head embodying my'invention, Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the same,- and'Fig. 3 is a front end view thereof.

In the particular drawings selected for more fully disclosing my invention 1 rep- F. NORMAN,

a slight joltwill throw the contact wheel contact with the inner sides of the guard and itsperiphery is provided with a shallow groove which preferably is'tangential to the peripheral surfaces of the guard members The bar 8 rigidly connects the guard members, being connected with the same at a point on therear thereof approximately in line-with the axle 3 and is arranged for connection with the manipulating cable 9. On the opposite'side of the guard members is a stop 10 normally held against the harp by the resilient member '11 which'preferablyisa shock absorbing cord of the type commonly used on flying: machines as a substitute for springs V Generally speaking, a trolley wheel is shown downwardly from its wire in a diagonal direction,- so that when the spring which is attached to the lower end of the trolley pole reacts, the contact wheel passes upwardly to one side of the wire to the fullest extent permitted by the manipulating cable, whereupon the car is stopped and a trainman replaces the wheel on the wire by means of said cable. Sometimes, however,

off its: wire in a vertical'direction so that the yreaction of the trolley-pole springfwill' replace the same. Shouldthis happenwith a trolley pole provided with my improved head the trolley head would move downwardly, possibly far enough to permit the inwardly disposed ends 6 of the guard fingers to pass below the wire, whereupon the action of the trolley-pole spring would of course immediately force the head upwardly vand replace the trolley on the wire. My invention however is not designed for such contingency, for in the great majority of instances the wheel is thrown off-the wire downwardlyl in a diagonaL direction. In suchcase the inwardly extending ends of the guard fingers will'strike the wire and thereby limit/the downward movement of the t olley head, so that thereaction of the trolley-pole spring will immediately} and automatically'force the head upwardly and replace the trolley on the wire, the beveled periphery of the side members of the guard assisting in guiding the contact wheel to its normal position under the wire.

In order to place the wheel on the wire, as when the car is started out or to replace the same if by chance a shock should drive the head vertically downwardly and on the upward movement of the head the guard fingers should pass upwardly to one side of the wire, the operative will grasp the cable 9 thereby imparting a partial rotation to the guard about the axle 3 and against the tension of the resilient member 11 so as to clear the upper portion of the periphery of the wheel from the fingers 4!, 4, thereby presenting to the wire the beveled surfaces of the side members of the guard, which as aforesaid preferably are tangential to the peripheral groove of'the trolley wheel. In this way the wheel can be placed or replaced upon the wire as readily as a trolley wheel of the usual type, which as is well known is provided with a deep peripheral groove having substantially the same shape as that of the peripheral surfaces of the guard member 4:, t and wheel 5. Having placed the wheel on the wire, the operative releases the cable 9 whereupon the resilient member 11 will restore the fingers l, 4 to their normal upstanding position.

Having thus described an illustrative embodiment of my invention without however limiting the same thereto, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a trolley pole having a harp at its upper end of a guard rotatably mounted in said harp, said guard comprising two side members provided with fixed upwardly-extending fingers having inwardly-disposed end portions normally out of contact with the trolley wire and separated by a gap sufliciently wide to permit said wire to pass therethrough, a member rigidly connecting said side members and arranged for the connection of a manipu lating cable, means resiliently connecting said guard to the trolley pole and maintaining said fingers in upright position, and a contact wheel mounted for rotation in said harp and having its sides in close contact with the inner sides of said guard.

2. The combination with a trolley pole having a harp at its upper end of a guard rotatably mounted in said harp, said guard comprising two side members provided with fixed upwardly-extending fingers having inwardly-disposed end portions normally out of contact with the trolleywire and separated by a gap sufiiciently wide to permit said wire to pass therethrough, a member rigidly connecting said side members and arranged for the connection of a'manipulating cable, a shock absorbing cord connecting said guard to the trolley pole and maintaining said fingers in upright position, and a contact wheel mounted for rotation in said harp and having its sides in close contact with the inner sides of said guard.

3. The combination with a trolley pole having a harp at its upper end of a guard rotatably mounted in said harp, said guard comprising two side members provided with fixed upwardly-extending fingers having inwardly-disposed end portions normallyout of contact with the trolley wire andseparated by a gap sufiiciently wide to permit said wire to pass therethrough, a member rigidly connecting said side members and arranged for the connection of a manipulat ingcable, a shock absorbing cord connecting said guard to thetrolley pole and maintaining said fingers in upright position, a stop on said guard arranged to cooperate with said harp for limiting the rotational movement of said guard in one direction, and a contact wheel mounted for rotation in said harp and having its sides in' close contact with the inner sides of said guard.

4. The combination with a trolley pole having a harp at its upper end of a guard rotatably mounted in said harp, said guard comprising two circular side members provided with fixed upwardly-extending fingers having inwardly disposed end portions normally out of contact with the wire and separated by a gap sufiiciently wide to permit said wire to pass therethrough, a member rigidly connecting said side members and arranged for the connection of a manipulating cable, meansgresiliently connecting said guard to the trolley pole and maintaining said fingers in upright position, and a contact wheel mounted for rotation in said harp and having its sides in close contact with the inner sides of said guard.

5. The combination with a trolley pole having a harp at its upper end of a guard rotatably mounted in said harp, said guard comprising two side members, a contact wheel mounted for rotation in said harp, said wheel being located between said side members and provided with a peripheral groove, the peripheral surfaces of said side members being inclined inwardly and tangentially to the peripheral surface of said contact wheel, upwardly extending fingers formed integral with said side members respectively and having inwardly disposed end portions, said end portions being separated by a gap sufficiently wide to permit the trolley wire to pass therethrough, resilient means for maintaining saidfingers in upstanding position, and a member joining said side members and arranged for the connection of a manipulating cable.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of April, 

